UNICEF (UNUC) revealed that Nigeria currently bears the highest burden on unvaccinated children in the world. UNICEF health official Bashir Elegbede revealed the numbers in a media conversation at Yobe State Damaturu as part of an event commemorating the 2025 world immunization cycle.
Elegbede said an estimated 2.1 million Nigerian children, 24% of the country’s 8.7 million people, have not received a single routine vaccination. These children, known as “zero dose” children, missed all immunizations under the National Conventional Immunization Program program.
According to him, the global goal is to reduce the number of zero-dose children by 25% by 2025, and by 2030, he described the situation in Nigeria as a shocking one, saying the prevalence of zero-dose children threatens public health and undermines efforts to control pre-dose vaccines.
Elegbede identified areas affected by conflict, climate change, the COVID-19 pandemic and hard to reach rural communities, and is the primary location for these zero-dose children. Urban slums and areas with poorly performed health systems have also made significant contributions to national figures.
He warned that children without vaccination are more susceptible to diseases such as polio, measles, meningitis, yellow fever and viral hepatitis, highlighting the importance of vaccines to reduce child mortality and ensure healthy development. He added that despite global progress, Nigeria remains the most affected country, with Borno and Yube states being the hardest affected countries.
He said UNICEF continues to support the Nigerian government in improving routine immunity and strengthening the country’s health infrastructure. In 2024 alone, the agency vaccinated approximately 20,000 zero-dose children in Yobe through the Type Five vaccine, preventing five life-threatening diseases. In Borno State, reaching 145,000 unvaccinated children, a broader campaign known as the Big Catch-up campaign aims to target another 165,000 children in the northeast in March 2025 and April 2025. Of this target, 138,000 children (95%) were successfully exposed.
Damaturu’s Emir Shehu Hashimi II IBN UMAR AL-AMIN EL-KANEMI praised UNICEF’s intervention through his representative Maisanda Lawan and reaffirmed the commitment of traditional institutions to ensure vaccine contact in all communities across Yobe.
World Immunization Week, observed globally from April 24 to 30, aims to promote awareness and access to vaccines. This year’s theme is “Immunization for all is human possibilities,” highlighting the World Health Organization’s call for greater investment and collaboration to ensure equitable vaccine coverage for every child.
